ISHI? boutique to hold Saturday grand opening

At ISHI? boutique, owner Iyishia Jones won't let shoppers buy something if they like it.

“If you like it, you can’t buy it. You have to love it. If you like it, it will stay in your closet. If you love it, you’ll wear it all the time," Jones said.

A Hoover resident, Jones started ISHI? in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, in December 2015. Seeing lots of Birmingham customers at the store, she decided to open a second location close to home. ISHI? is located at 1736 Reese St. and is holding a grand opening event on Saturday, Dec. 12 at noon.

Jones said her husband came up with the store's name, which is pronounced like "Is she?" This inspired the store tagline: "ISHI? She is."

“She is classy, she is elegant, she is fun, she is any woman she wants to be as it relates to fashion,” Jones said.

About 60 percent of the clothing ISHI? sells is designed in the store, and Jones said all of it can be tailored on-site to meet a client's needs. Jones said what makes ISHI? stand apart is that they only sell a limited amount of each design, and they will also keep a log of women buying items for special events so that two customers don't show up in the same outfit.

“No one wants to look alike," Jones said. “We can design anything from jeans to couture gowns.”

Jones got her love of fashion in college, when she helped her mother run a boutique in Michigan. She said she hopes to bring something unique to the shopping landscape of Homewood.

“I hope Homewood shoppers will be able to experience something different,” Jones said. “I really love my clients when they put on something they didn’t think they would like.”

ISHI? will be open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Learn more at ISHIshopping.com.